Golf carts are used for a wide range of purposes ranging from traveling on the golf course to driving through golfing communities to even hunting, in which a variation of the golf cart provides transportation to and from a hunting location. Golf carts are typically powered by one of two different methods. Some golf carts run on electric power, while others are gasoline powered. Variations of golf carts are used for transportation on industrial campuses, which may require the extended range of gasoline-powered engines but also require the environmental aspects of electric power while in or near buildings. As such, there is a need for such carts to run on hybrid power.
With the development of hybrid vehicles that run on both gasoline and electricity, that hybrid technology has been applied to golf carts that contain both an electric and a gasoline powered drive engine to extend the range of golf carts and to conserve fuel. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,224,132 “Portable Range Extender Operable in Automatic and Manual Modes” discloses a portable automated range extender for an electric vehicle that monitors the voltage of the batteries and turns on or shuts off the engine at preprogrammed levels. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 7,121,234 “Hybrid Electric Vehicle and Method of Selectively Operating the Hybrid Electric Vehicle” discloses a series type hybrid electric vehicle that has a controller for operating both the engine and generator in various operating modes. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,337 “Silent Operating Mode for Reducing Emissions of a Hybrid Electric Vehicle” discloses generally the architecture of a series-hybrid.
These others have disclosed golf carts that contain both an electric and a gasoline powered engine that solve the major problem of switching from the range-extended gasoline powered engine to the range-limited electric operations. However, these hybrid carts remain limited. Limitations include cost, complexity, reliability, weight, efficiency, ease of use, and incomplete control of the power supplies. Moreover, none of the attempts to create a hybrid vehicle solve the problems of retrofitting a supplemental supply source into an existing system; user control of the engine and fuel supply; and electrically starting a smaller engine designed to fit in smaller spaces. Specifically, with respect to the latter, no generators smaller than 2500 watts in size are available with electric starters, thereby creating the need for pull-type starters for those smaller generators used in this operating environment.